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Scientist Laura Robinson has to strain her arm muscles to hold this large sample of fossil Desmophyllum cristagalli on fossil Gorgonian coral, from yesterday's Alvin dive. The corals are covered in black manganese crust, while the white portions are the calcium carbonate underneath. Those CaCO₃ ends of the Gorgonians show where this sample broke apart when Alvin reached the surface. When the collection basket is full and the samples are large, that's always a risk.

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